Players, Please Board the Train

While avoiding the steel beam, he instinctively glanced down at the ground. He had initially thought Zhou Ning was hiding in the hair strands below, but in the blink of an eye, she had moved from in front of him to behind, then from behind to above—her movement trajectory could only be described as bizarre.

He paused for a moment, then took out the fairy tale book again. As soon as he began telling the story, the hair snakes attacking him froze once more. Immediately after, Zhou Ning jumped down from above, carrying a several-meter-long steel beam, swinging it wildly with her eyes closed!

Xu Huo found an opening and kicked the steel beam away, then reached out to press her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. But the moment his palm touched her clothes, something bit him. Looking closely, he saw several small hair snakes as thick as fingers emerging from her collar, and crack-like patterns had also appeared on her skin.

”Zhou Ning!” he shouted.

Zhou Ning snapped back to awareness. When she turned and saw him, she recoiled in fright and quickly said, ”Close that book of yours first!”

As the fairy tale book’s effect faded, Zhou Ning let out a long sigh, dispersed the hair snakes, and touched her painful wounds before saying, ”I lost again.”

”What was wrong with you just now?” Xu Huo asked.

”What?” Zhou Ning seemed somewhat slow to respond. ”Was something off just now?”

”Were you conscious when using your characteristic?” Xu Huo pointed to her shoulders and eyes. ”Didn’t you notice the abnormalities in your body while using your characteristic?”

Zhou Ning reached up in confusion, then pulled open her clothes to discover that the skin on her shoulders had cracked into patterns resembling snake scales. However, as she examined them, the skin was already healing.”What’s going on?” She appeared even more surprised than Xu Huo.

”Your movement patterns resemble those of a snake, and not only that—the shape of your pupils has also changed.” Xu Huo gave her a once-over. ”Have there been any changes in your daily diet or living habits?”

Zhou Ning thought for a moment and shook her head. ”No.”

”That’s good then.” Xu Huo said, ”If these characteristics only appear when you use your ability, it should be fine. But if they’re gradually changing your daily habits, you need to be careful.”

”Careful about what?” Zhou Ning asked instinctively.

”Illusion versus reality.” Xu Huo explained, ”Logically speaking, humans can’t suddenly mutate into snakes, but mutations aren’t impossible for Evolvers. There are also Mutants in dungeons that clearly exhibit animal physical characteristics, but that’s under circumstances where their evolution failed.”

”You underwent normal evolution. The biggest difference between normal Evolvers and Mutants, to put it bluntly, is rationality. Perhaps your mental energy might prompt some physical changes, but you can’t actually become a snake.”

”Elderly Medusa is just your profession.”

Hearing this last sentence, Zhou Ning suddenly jolted. She couldn’t help but slap her forehead and said, ”I was confused earlier and felt something was off—this is it!”

”You’re right. Elderly Medusa is just my profession. I can use the characteristic, but I can’t think of myself as an actual snake.”

After pausing, she added with frustration, ”But this is the only way I can maximize the effectiveness of my characteristic.”

When assimilating with the hair snakes, she experienced a different kind of calmness and efficiency compared to normal times.

Xu Huo thought for a moment and said, ”Try to see if you can quickly disengage from your characteristic during training. When I make my move later, count aloud every ten seconds. If the characteristic duration extends and you feel your self-control is compromised, call for a stop.”

Zhou Ning nodded.

The two soon began sparring again in the factory. Through repeated counting, Xu Huo discovered that Zhou Ning’s characteristic had no time limit, and the longer she used it, the calmer her state became. He intentionally inflicted serious injuries on her midway, but after counting, she didn’t disengage from her characteristic—instead, she repeated her previous attacks.

Xu Huo actively called for a stop, and Zhou Ning reacted quickly, immediately retracting the hair snakes. However, traces remained on her body, with her pupils almost completely vertical.

She stood in place for several seconds before recovering. When her pupils returned to normal, her expression changed accordingly, and she gasped while clutching her broken ribs.

After they exchanged thoughts, Xu Huo said, ”From what we’ve seen so far, you remain conscious while using your characteristic—you just temporarily block some physical sensations. This has advantages in actual combat.”

Zhou Ning nodded slightly, but her expression remained somewhat grave.

Seeing her concern, Xu Huo asked, ”Do you feel that in your characteristic state, you’ve lost the normal reactions to danger?”

Zhou Ning nodded vigorously. ”Under normal circumstances, I should try to escape when injured, but I didn’t have that thought just now.” She only wanted to defeat Xu Huo.

Her characteristic was exceptionally unique, something Xu Huo had recognized from the start, and he considered her a sample of a particular type of evolution.

Human behavior in any situation reflects one’s psychology and personality. No matter how it changes, it’s difficult to break away from inherent patterns. Zhou Ning’s psychological state changed along with her characteristic, which differed from any other player he had encountered.

”Here’s what we’ll do,” Xu Huo suggested. ”During daily training, set a fixed time limit for yourself. When that time is up, end your characteristic. If you can’t end it voluntarily, use external assistance—at the very least, achieve free control over activation and deactivation.”

Zhou Ning breathed a slight sigh of relief. ”Thank you, Xu Huo.”

”You’re welcome.” Xu Huo said, ”That’s all for now. I need to leave Ting City for a few days. Contact me by phone if any issues arise.”

”Are you planning to enter a dungeon again?” Zhou Ning asked in surprise. ”Didn’t Yuan Yao say you just came out of a dungeon?”

”No, I have some matters to attend to back home.” Xu Huo brushed the dust off his clothes and prepared to leave.

”I’ll see you off.” Zhou Ning quickly stood up, wincing slightly as her injury was aggravated. But when she noticed him looking at her, she quickly smiled. ”It’s fine. It’ll heal in a couple of days.”

”I might have been a bit heavy-handed.” Xu Huo apologized.

Zhou Ning quickly shook her head. ”You were helping me. I’m really fine—it’s just a minor injury. Besides, getting injured during training is better than getting injured during the game.”

Xu Huo took out his phone. ”I’ll have Hu Wenhu pick you up.”

”Aren’t you returning to the city with us?” Zhou Ning looked at him.

”I’m going straight to the airport.” Xu Huo contacted Hu Wenhu and waited until he arrived before preparing to take a taxi.

”Sister Ning, are you okay?” Hu Wenhu arrived in a rented car and exclaimed in shock when he saw the blood on Zhou Ning. ”Were you attacked?”

Zhou Ning slapped the back of his head. ”I’m fine. First, take Brother Xu to the airport.”

”Brother Xu is leaving?” Hu Wenhu said. ”I’m fine with that, but your injuries...”

”No need, just drop me off at the intersection later.” Xu Huo said. ”It’s not easy to hail a cab around here anyway.”

He stopped a car halfway and changed course to the airport.

Watching him leave directly, Zhou Ning seemed somewhat lost in thought. Hu Wenhu craned his neck and said, ”Brother Xu is really busy, huh? Just out of a dungeon and already rushing off somewhere else without stopping.”

”He’s different from us.” Zhou Ning said quietly.